Man agrees to take down 8-story sign

LOS ANGELES, March 1 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles businessman who was being held on $1 million bail has agreed to take down an eight-story ad for a film, authorities said.

Kayvan Setareh, 49, who was arrested Friday night at his Pacific Palisades, Calif. home, agreed Monday to take the sign down in exchange for having his bail lowered to $100,000, the Los Angeles Times reported. Setareh was charged with violating the city's sign law by hanging the so-called supergraphic around a Hollywood office building.

The arrest was part of an aggressive campaign by Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich against unauthorized outdoor advertising, the newspaper said.

Setareh's lawyer, Andrew Stein, said Judge Mildred Escobedo erred in approving the $1 million bail.

"I don't think my client's sign endangered the public any more than the other signs that have been put up and down Sunset Boulevard over the last 10 years -- permitted or unpermitted," Stein said.

Lawyers in the city attorney's office said the supergraphic posed a potential threat to pubic safety because, in the absence of a proper inspection, it could fall on motorists and pedestrians.

Setareh was scheduled to be released from jail late Monday and the sign -- an ad for the film "How to Train Your Dragon" -- was to be removed beginning at 10 p.m. PST.